Following months of eviction threats and uncertainty, the Pacific Rod and Gun Club has reached an agreement with the city on a new lease and will remain open - for now.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and club owners agreed that the only outdoor shooting range in San Francisco can occupy its 14-acre space on the shores of Lake Merced for up to two more years before the situation is re-evaluated.

"It brings to an end a long-running controversy and I think for the future of Lake Merced, this is undoubtedly the right thing to do," said Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, who introduced the lease agreement Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting.

Last month, the city filed an unlawful detainer lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court to speed up negotiations after the 400-member club was reluctant to accept liability for damages to the property caused under the old lease. The city believes cleaning up lead pollution in the soil caused by the club's use of lead bullets and toxic clay pigeons until 1994 will cost more than $10 million, a number the club disputes.

As part of the agreement, the commission and the club plan to work cooperatively to pursue funding options through the club's insurance policy to help pay for as much of the cleanup as possible.

"We're anxious to move forward," said club President Mike Miller. "It's been a lot of give and take on both sides."

PUC General Manager Harlan Kellysaid the new month-to-month lease, replacing the original that was signed in the 1930s, would protect San Francisco ratepayers from cleanup costs.

Modernizing the lease was an important first step, Kelly said, but once the cleanup is completed, there will be a public process to determine if a shooting range is the best use of space on Lake Merced.

"It's keeping them responsible for all the effects that have been done over 70 years," Kelly said. "We worked hard and finally came to some terms that both parties agreed to in moving forward."

San Francisco is one of 20 finalists for Bloomberg Philanthropies' Mayors Challenge, a competition for cities to come up with innovative ways to solve major problems and improve city life that can be replicated elsewhere.

The winning city gets $5 million. Four runners-up will each get $1 million. We're competing against the likes of Houston, with its "game-changing technology for new 'one bin for all'" recycling, and Santa Monica, the first U.S. city to establish a "well-being index" to spur improvements for the entire city.

San Francisco is in the running for its City Job Works program, which uses an online site to pair job seekers with volunteer opportunities on city government projects.

It's kind of like an unpaid mini-internship that helps the city do things it can't because of budget cuts.

The program is designed to help people who are underemployed, trying to transition to a new job or who have skills but lack experience, like recent college graduates. After a certain number of volunteer projects, they would get a city certification or credential.

The city gets free labor out of the deal, plus real-time data on what the unemployment pool looks like, including what skills job seekers have. That information could be used to help tailor the curriculum at community colleges to improve future job prospects. Lee's administration hopes the program could also be expanded, and it's also likely to be modified with more input.

"Across our country, unemployment is still too high, and our City Job Works initiative creates opportunities for unemployed residents by matching them with government projects that might have been left unfulfilled due to a lack of funding or human capital," Lee said in a statement. "It's a win-win for our city."

We certainly see how the city wins. It seems the big question is how much those city certifications will mean to employers looking to hire.

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